USAID missions and implementers must be proactive and closely monitor all participants who may end up in the path of Irma, as well as any other storm for the remainder of the hurricane season. If evacuations become necessary, missions and implementers will need to work together in case additional funds are necessary for evacuation.
Participant Training questions may be directed to Linda Walker, or Ethel Brooks related to this message.

Last call to finalize the TraiNet data for FY 16, as we will be processing the FY 16 data very soon. Please review the notes below and update all FY 16 as needed as soon as possible.

In-country data for programs of 16 contact hours or more is mandatory.

"Sponsoring Units must enter data in TraiNet for any in-country training programs or sub-programs of two consecutive class days or more in duration, or 16 contact hours
or more scheduled intermittently. However, Sponsoring Units should report any and all other in-country training events that are critical to their development effort"
- the more data that is entered the more complete the sponsoring unit's portfolio will appear.

R1's are reminded that in-country and third-country data is to have been entered by program length, not by the length of the award. We are still finding
short
programs showing as long-term (6 months or longer) because the award dates are being used, not the actual training dates.

All training costs regardless of location are to be entered as U.S. dollars.

NO U.S. citizen data may be entered.

If you sent individuals to the U.S. on an exemption of the use of a J visa as detailed in ADS 252, you must make sure a copy of the a522-5 is sent to
Linda Walker
(lwalker@usaid.gov) and that the individuals listed on that form have been entered into TraiNet, but not
submitted to VCS.

You MUST enter all of the various types of funding if other funding is being used such as host country funding, in-kind contributions, tuition waivers,
personal
funds from the participants, etc.:

Host Country Total

Private Total

Provider Total

Other Total

Programs that did not move forward must be appropriately managed. Please discuss this issue with the Help Desk if you have questions related to this
type of program.

Information can be updated even if a program has ended.

The more training that is entered, the better the country profile.

Questions on basic data entry should be directed to the Help Desk at trainetsupport@riverainc.com.
Questions related to the IAWG report or how the data will be used may be directed to me.

Thank you for your support. As always, if you are no longer serving as an R1, R2 or R3, please let us know.

Please remain aware of all of the recent requirements and notices related to
travel and visa issuance. It is expected that some or all elements of the
various actions may change so anyone managing participant travel must watch
for any new travel criteria.

The U.S. Department of State recommends the following two sites related to
the proposed travel ban (currently under legal review):

The latest information we have regarding the ban on electronic devices provided to
USAID personnel in a travel advisory notice is shown below:

"Today, the United States government ordered nine airlines to stop passengers from
bringing most electronic devices into the cabin for U.S.-bound flights from major
airports in the Middle East and North Africa.

Passengers will have to check-in any electronic devices bigger than a smartphone
including laptops, cameras, gaming devices and tablets such as iPads. Medical
devices required during the flight will still be allowed in the cabin after
security screening.

The nine airlines that operate direct flights to the U.S. from those airports are
Egypt Air, Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, Kuwait Airways, Qatar Airways, Royal
Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Turkish Airlines.

U.S. airlines are not affected because none of them fly from the airports in
question. Passengers will still be allowed to take electronic devices onto flights
departing from the U.S.

The UK has also instituted a similar electronics ban.

The UK government today also announced an electronic devices ban on inbound flights
from the Middle East and North Africa.

The ban on anything electronic larger than a normal smartphone will affect direct
flights from six countries: Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.
Under the new restrictions, passengers boarding flights to the UK from the countries
affected will not be allowed to take any phones, laptops or tablets larger than a
normal smartphone - specified as 16cm x 9.3cm x 1.5cm.

Thank you for the continued support of the inbound plan for your USAID participants. We are pleased to announce the transition to Geo Blue which becomes effective on the renewal of your plan on November 1, 2016.

Effective upon renewal, your coverage will be under the GeoBlue® brand offered by Worldwide Insurance Services (WIS) as an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. The unsurpassed personal service and access to quality healthcare worldwide you rely on now will now have the added strength of the Blue brand. GeoBlue Student is offered in cooperation with local Blue Cross of Blue Shield companies, which collectively cover 1 in 3 Americans.

This transition allows us to extend our global reach through development of relationships, including those with Blue Cross Blue Shield network in the U.S. and Bupa outside the U.S., to address compliance, regulatory and network challenges. By leveraging our strong relationships we are able to deliver not only compliant local solutions but an extensive global network.

The participants will now access the HAC site through the following link which should be up and running by Monday 9/26/2016.

It is a brand new look, however the functionalities are the same and the participants should have no trouble navigating the new site. We have replaced the former brochure with our new and expanded member guide. The new member guide has more information and available guidance for the participants with regards to available resources.

In addition, the member website has changed to the new member hub. Again offering a more visual review of the available resources. In addition, there is a new claim form which is available on the site under the claims tab.

The existing link https://www.hthstudents.com/HAC is up and running and will automatically jump people over to the new GeoBlue link, however, if they are enrolled prior to November 1, 2016, they will be enrolled with HTH until the end of their enrollment period. They will be directed to and receive HTH ID cards. However all enrolled after November 1, will be enrolled under GeoBlue. In addition, the next time a student previously insured with HTH enrolls it will be with Blue and they will maintain the same certificate number.

I have attached the new certificates for each plan offering as well as a revised HAC Summary page. I will be sending he member guides as well for your review.

There are a few plan changes. We have removed the conception clause for maternity benefits, so that conception does not have to occur while the plan is in force. We have also removed the $35 per visit limit to outpatient therapies. There are changes to the list of exclusions as well however, they are mostly enhancements and clarifications.

The rates for the short term and third country national plan have remained the same while the monthly rate for long term has increased slightly.

Thank you again for your cooperation . I look forward to your program continuing to grow and a successful year.

Denise Donegan
GeoBlue Account Manager
610-254-8757

Last Call to Finalize FY 15 Data in Trainet

Last call to finalize the TraiNet data for FY 15, as we will be processing the FY 15 data very soon.
Please review the notes below and update all FY 15 as needed as soon as possible.

In-country data for programs of 16 contact hours or more is mandatory.

"Sponsoring Units must enter data in TraiNet for any in-country training programs or sub-programs of two consecutive class days or more in duration, or 16 contact hours
or more scheduled intermittently. However, Sponsoring Units should report any and all other in-country training events that are critical to their development effort"
- the more data that is entered the more complete the sponsoring unit's portfolio will
appear.

R1's are reminded that in-country and third-country data is to have been entered
by program
length, not by the length of the award. We are still finding
short
programs showing as long-term (6 months or longer) because the award dates are
being used, not
the actual training dates.

All training costs regardless of location are to be entered as U.S. dollars.

NO U.S. citizen data may be entered.

If you sent individuals to the U.S. on an exemption of the use of a J visa as
detailed in ADS
252, you must make sure a copy of the a522-5 is sent to
Linda Walker
(lwalker@usaid.gov) and that the
individuals listed on
that form have been entered into TraiNet, but not
submitted to VCS.

You MUST enter all of the various types of funding if other funding is being
used such as host
country funding, in-kind contributions, tuition waivers,
personal
funds from the participants, etc.:

Host Country Total

Private Total

Provider Total

Other Total

Programs that did not move forward must be appropriately managed. Please discuss
this issue with
the Help Desk if you have questions related to this
type of program.

Information can be updated even if a program has ended.

The more training that is entered, the better the country profile.

Questions on basic data entry should be directed to the Help Desk at trainetsupport@riverainc.com.
Questions
related to the IAWG report or how the data will be used may be directed to me.

Thank you for your support. As always, if you are no longer serving as an R1, R2 or R3,
please let
us know.

In accordance with ADS 252, USAID staff are required to use the AID 252-2 form to except
foreign
nationals, who are participating in U.S.-based USAID-sponsored activities, from the
Agency
requirement
to use a USAID-Sponsored J-1 visa.

The form has been revised to clarify its use to except the Agency requirement for
"USAID-Sponsored" J-1 visas,
specifically. The form also includes other enhanced text and formatting features.

The new AID 252-2 form, dated November 2015, replaces the previous version of the form
which was
numbered AID 522-5
and dated June 2009. Mission and Washington staff should destroy copies of the previous
form and
begin using the
revised form going forward for new programs.

New Form AID 252-1 Conditions of Sponsorship for U.S.-Based Activities

The Agency’s Participant Training and Exchanges Team (E3/ED/PT&E) is pleased to notify
USAID
Mission and Washington staff that form AID 252-1, Conditions of
Sponsorship
for U.S.-Based Activities, has been revised and is available on the internal MyUSAID
(intranet) Forms page. USAID implementers (contractors/grantees) may access the form on
USAID’s
external (internet) Forms page.

In accordance with ADS 252, USAID staff are required to use the AID 252-1 form to obtain
agreement from every selected individual participating in a U.S.-based activity with the
Agency’s Conditions of Sponsorship.
The form has been revised to clarify certain USAID sponsorship conditions including,
U.S.
departure and home-country return, program termination, automobile operation and
ownership, and
repayment of program costs. The form also includes enhanced formatting features.

The new AID 252-1 form replaces the previous version of the form which was numbered AID
1381-6
and dated December 2013. Mission and Washington staff should destroy copies of the
previous form
and begin using the revised form.

The Agency’s Participant Training & Exchanges Team (E3/ED/PT&E) is pleased to
notify
USAID Mission and Washington staff that form AID 253-1, Demand for Participant
Training
Costs Repayment, has been revised and is available on the MyUSAID (intranet)
Forms page.

In accordance with ADS 253, the AID 253-1 form is used by USAID staff in
carrying-out
internal accounting procedures upon confirmation that a USAID-sponsored
Participant has
become a non-returnee or has been terminated by USAID from a program.

The form has been revised to incorporate updated Office of the Chief Financial
Officer
(CFO) administrative content, as well as enhanced formatting.

The new AID 253-1 form replaces the previous version of the form which was dated
June
2004. Mission and Washington staff should destroy copies of the previous form
and begin
using the revised form.

USAID's Participant Training Team (E3/ED/PT) would like to announce the
establishment of
a new email address,
USAIDITIN@RIVERAINC.COM, for all
email
communications regarding Exchange
Visitor (EV) Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN).
See
TraiNet
Help Site for details.

This notice announces the partial revision of ADS Chapter 253, Participant
Training and
Exchanges for
Capacity Development. This chapter has been revised to update the policy
directives and
required procedures
for the design and implementation of Participant Training programs, including
Exchanges,
for foreign
nationals that are financed, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, by
USAID.
Foreign nationals,
who are selected by the Agency to engage in Participant Training programs,
including
Exchanges, are considered
Participants. See TraiNet
Help Site
for details.

This notice announces the partial revision of
ADS Chapter
252, Visa
Compliance for Exchange Visitors.
This chapter has been revised to update the policy directives and required
procedures
related to visa
compliance for foreign nationals who are traveling to the United States for any
purpose,
including
invitational travel and participant training, and are financed (either program
or
administrative costs),
in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, by USAID. See
Trainet
Help Site for
details.

Submission of files from TraiNet to VCS to obtain DS 2019 form for U.S.-based
programs

USAID Exchanges and Participant Training team (AID/E3/ED/HEWT) has re-issued Form AID
1381-6

The USAID Exchanges and Participant Training team (AID/E3/ED/HEWT) has re-issued
Form AID 1381-6, Conditions of Sponsorship for U.S.-Based
Activities (see ADS 252.3.6), to make the form fully
applicable to all U.S.-based activities, regardless of the USAID-sponsored
traveler's
visa type. This agreement between USAID and the sponsored traveler continues to
fully reference the Exchange Visitor J-1 visa, as appropriate,
but is now also applicable to travelers who have received an exception to
USAID's policy regarding use of the J-1 visa
(see ADS
252.3.1).

Please read this notice in it's entirety as the information for each level of
responsibility will help you to understand why data must
be entered so precisely and why each level of review is so critical.

Recent
events in Boston are bringing student visas
into greater visibility within the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S.
Congress. If you are modifying the end date of a
program you must tick the box for a reprint. Updated forms are corrected within
the Homeland Security database once submitted but
you will only get a new form if you ask for one, they do not reprint
automatically. You are also reminded that the implementer
is responsible for making a copy of the DS 2019 and uploading it to
VCS.